So for all of you english riders how long did you ride/take lessons before you were ready to compete? Did you do just english pleasure, jumping, dressage etc? How did you do in your first show? Im just curious since I will be starting lessons next week and would eventually down the road like to show.Posted via Mobile Device

3 months after I started. I'm really glad there's only 2 pictures in existence of that day! I wish I could forget it, LOL. Don't be in a hurry to show, I'd wait until you feel you've got a good foundation establishedPosted via Mobile Device

I took 2 lessons a week for about 7 weeks in college before going to my first show. My trainer at college then put me on the IHSA huntseat team in the Walk-Trot class. IIRC, I placed fourth at my first show, then fifth at the next. There were about 12 girls in both classes.

I did my first non-IHSA show in the spring of that same year, in a walk-trot-canter class, and got second. (Losing to a 12-year-old. Not that I'm bitter, 13 years later.)

Honestly, there's so many lower level classes now, you could pretty much show dressage, 'jumpers' (ground poles) or huntseat with only a month or two of steady instruction. Of course, this all depends on you, your trainer and the classes offered locally.

Granted, I was 7:) but i was trying to ride a horse that had only done huntseat, western. needless to say sitting trot was not addressed in my weekly lessons. Calling me a pogo stick would've been an understatement, LOLPosted via Mobile Device

No one ever told me how to move with the horse. My instructor always screamed at me to sit up straight and still, she failed to mention I could move my hips to stay in rhythm w/ the horse. WOULD'VE BEEN GOOD INFORMATION TO KNOW AHEAD OF TIME!! LOLPosted via Mobile Device

Lol, I know its strange but im better at sitting the trot instead of the canter. Apparently everybody tells me the canter should be easier to sit, then again my mare had a nice wp jog if you made her get into (nobody else could get her to slow down her trot for them). But a really rough canter, and she would constantly throw me off balance.Posted via Mobile Device

I don't remember exactly how long it was before my first show, but my first show was only walk/trot (shortly after that I learned to canter).

Switched barns and trainers, a year or two later I did flat classes (w/t/c), crossrails, and verticles. Those were just schooling shows, then I did one event... and now... a few years later again, I am getting back into eventing.

I agree that you should establish a good foundation first, then consider showing. Schooling shows are a lot of fun if you can find some near you! While you should have a certain amount of experience prior to entering the show ring, you don't have to be able to jump 3 feet perfectly before you go. Flat classes are fun, and any experience you can get will help out down the road when you move up levels and difficulty.

I didn't show on a regular basis, but my pony and I almost always placed at the schooling shows. My horse has only shown I believe 3 times... twice at the schooling shows and one event.

It is a hard mindset at first, but go with the intent to do your best, for your horse to do his/her best, and to have fun. Show them what you've got and hopefully the ribbons follow. Just because you don't place doesn't mean you didn't perform well..... it just means it is time to go home, practice some more, and return next show to kick some butt!

Register Now

In order to be able to post messages on the The Horse Forum forums, you must first register.

Already have a Horse Forum account?
Members are allowed only one account per person at the Horse Forum, so if you've made an account here in the past you'll need to continue using that account. Please do not create a new account or you may lose access to the Horse Forum. If you need help recovering your existing account, please Contact Us. We'll be glad to help!

New to the Horse Forum?Please choose a username you will be satisfied with using for the duration of your membership at the Horse Forum. We do not change members' usernames upon request because that would make it difficult for everyone to keep track of who is who on the forum. For that reason, please do not incorporate your horse's name into your username so that you are not stuck with a username related to a horse you may no longer have some day, or use any other username you may no longer identify with or care for in the future.

User Name:

Password

Please enter a password for your user account. Note that passwords are case-sensitive.

Password:

Confirm Password:

Email Address

Please enter a valid email address for yourself.

Email Address:

OR

Log-in

User Name

Password

Remember Me?

Human Verification

In order to verify that you are a human and not a spam bot, please enter the answer into the following box below based on the instructions contained in the graphic.

Old Thread Warning

This thread is more than 90 days old. When a thread is this old, it is often better to start a new thread rather than post to it. However, If you feel you have something of value to add to this particular thread, you can do so by checking the box below before submitting your post.I am aware that this is an old thread and I want to revive it rather than starting a new thread.